consumer awareness of credit scores

© 2016 Fiserv, Inc. Expectations & Experiences : Channels and New Entrants Quarterly Consumer Trends Survey 1

Expectations & Experiences Consumer Insights


Consumer Awareness of Credit Scores

Excerpt from Expectations & Experiences: Channels & New Entrants, Fiserv, 2016


Knowledge of Credit Scores Viewed As A Priority

Base: All qualified respondents (n=3079)Q955: On a scale from 0 – 10, where “0” means “not at all important” and “10” means “extremely important”, how important is knowing your credit score to you?

1%

1%8% 7% 14% 22% 16% 25%

Importance Of Knowing Credit Score

Not at all important (0) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Extremely Important (10)

Middle-532%

Top-364%

Bottom-35%

Consumers with higher income and investable assets are more likely than their counterparts to

say knowing their credit score is important to them.


Many Consumers Admit Not Knowing Exact Credit Score

Base: All qualified respondents (n=3079)Q905: Which of the following statements best describes your familiarity with your personal credit score?

39%

48%

13%

Knowledge of Credit Score

I know my exactnumber

I know the generalrange my credit scoreis in

I do not know what mycredit score is

1 in 3 Early Millennials (33%) say they do not know what their

credit score is.

Know Credit Score NET:

87%

Those with higher income and investable assets are the most likely to say they know their

exact credit score.

Only half of those who say knowing their credit score is

important (48%) actually know their exact number.


53%

33%

22%

15%

11%

6%

4%

3%

3%

I was just curious

It was provided to me at no cost as partof another financial transaction

To monitor identity theft

To try to improve my credit score

I was planning to apply for a new loan

I wanted to get the lowest interest rate

I wanted to lower my interest rate

Other

Not sure

Reasons For Checking Credit Score

40%

18%

11%

6%

6%

6%

2%

4%

8%

In the past month

2-3 months ago

4-6 months ago

7-12 months ago

1 year ago

2-3 years ago

4-5 years ago

More than 5 years ago

I’ve never viewed/checked my credit score

Last Time Viewed Credit Score

Most Viewed Score Out of Curiosity; Fewer for Functional Reasons

Base: All qualified respondents (n=3079)Q915: To the best of your knowledge, when was the last time you viewed/checked your credit score?Base: Checked credit score (n=2821)Q920: Thinking about the last time you checked your credit score, for which of the following reasons did you check it? Please select all that apply.

Early Millennials (27%)Seniors (12%)

Millennials, and to a lesser extent Gen Xers, are the most

likely to report these reasons.


About the Survey

This is an excerpt from Expectations & Experiences, a quarterly consumer trends survey conducted on behalf of Fiserv by Harris Poll, a division of Nielsen. This longitudinal study that has been delivering insights into the financial services experience since 2002. It is one of the longest-running surveys of its kind, informing how Fiserv and organizations worldwide reimagine the financial services experience.


Research Method

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll between March 11 and March 30, 2016. A total of 3,079 interviews were conducted among U.S. adults ages 18 and older who met the following criteria:

Someone in household currently has a checking account with a bank, credit union, brokerage firm or other financial organization

Used checking account to pay a bill or make a purchase in the past thirty days

The data were weighted to ensure that relevant demographic characteristics of the sample matched those of the U.S. General Population. Green boxes represent highlighted differences. All respondents (not only those who met the qualifying criteria) were weighted to U.S. Census Bureau demographic profiles for the U.S. population, age 18+ on education, age, gender, race, income, region, household size and number of hours spent on the Internet (with targets for this variable coming from Nielsen Scarborough).


Learn More

Download the Research:Expectations & Experiences: Channels & New Entrants https://fisv.co/expectations-channels

Video:Author and financial journalist Jean Chatzy on the importance of talking to consumers about credit scores: http://fisv.co/2hOlONr

consumer awareness of credit scores

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